Police arrest 10 with drug-related offenses in Tuesday's market raids

Ten storeowners or clerks were arrested during Tuesday’s police raids targeting the sale of synthetic drugs.

Aesha Khadijah Randolph, Mina Maher Saleeb, Amber Taylor, Candice White, Maged Yanny, Ali Zahir, George Mikhail Aziz, Samir Labib Mekhaiel, Abdel Shehed Potros Said and Nadir Waheeb were all charged with drug-related offenses.

Nine of the arrests directly resulted from the execution of padlocking orders on 11 convenience stores [1]. During raids, police found illegal substances, drug paraphernalia and legend drugs without a prescription.

Taylor’s arrest stemmed from an undercover operation at a Toke-N-Roll market on June 7. Taylor allegedly told an undercover officer that a synthetic drug, TRiP, mimicked the effects of acid, and then sold the officer one TRiP pill, three grams of BANG BANG synthetic drugs and one cyclone rolling tube. Taylor is charged with a felony drug offense.

On Thursday morning, the District Attorney’s Office was working with various storeowners on agreements that would lift the padlock orders from the stores in exchange for a court injunction disallowing the sale of synthetic drugs in the stores.

As of Thursday, those charged had hearings before a judge scheduled for next Monday.